Absorbent articles, such as sanitary napkins, pantiliners, and incontinent pads are devices that are typically worn in the crotch region of an undergarment. Sanitary napkins and pantiliners are, for example, worn by women in a pair of panties that is normally positioned between the wearer's legs, adjacent to the perineum area. Sanitary napkins and pantiliners are designed to absorb and retain body fluids or discharges (e.g., menses) from the body of women and to prevent body and clothing from soiling. The menstrual period is very troublesome for women and many women experience mood swings during the period. Conventional sanitary napkins have a white color or a simple combination of light colors to provide a clean appearance. Because of the appearance, such sanitary napkins normally do not impact a woman's feelings in that they do not help to decrease or change her mood during the menstruation period. Various attempts have been made to address this problem. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0015145 to Miura, et al., for example, describes a sanitary napkin having a graphic printed onto either the body-contacting layer or the garment contacting layer, and that can be seen through the body contacting layer. The body-contacting layer is said to have a certain light transmittance so that the graphic can be seen by a woman through the layer to improve her mood during menstruation. Unfortunately, however, such “mood” driven designs do not address other practical concerns of women. For instance, one problem experienced by many women is that leakage can sometimes occur around the periphery of a product, which may become visible upon disposal, and lead to embarrassment for the consumer, and a general loss of confidence in the product. Another concern of women is the need to recognize when a pad is soiled, despite the desire to have aesthetically pleasing designs. While Miura, et al. references conventional mechanisms (e.g., embossed walls or channels) for preventing such leakage, it does not offer guidance for when conventional mechanisms fail and leakage occurs.
As such, a need currently exists for an absorbent article that is both visually appealing, communicates to a consumer that a pad is working, or when it is soiled, but also helps masks leakage of bodily fluids at certain locations, thereby offering to reduce uncomfortable feelings/embarrassment with excessive menstruation. There is therefore a need for absorbent articles that provide functional cues to the user, while avoiding embarrassment.